In Ecclesiastes 2:12-26 the Teacher seems to expand upon his discovery about his life and labors, to which he referred in Ecclesiastes 2:1-11. He, therefore, brings nothing new into his argument after these verses. What may seem to be new is merely an expansion of what he has already said, just as chapters two through twelve are an expansion of chapter one. In the very beginning of his lecture, the Teacher had already told us what he had concluded about the meaning of life (Ecclesiastes 1:3). What he says afterward is the meat he attaches to that skeleton. So, too, is what he claims in verses-12 through 26 in chapter two. They are the bodily form that adds flesh to the bones of verses-1 through 11.
The Teacher begins the body of his lecture by telling his readers that he decided to explore life at both ends of the pendulum, the end of wisdom and the end of madness and folly (Ecclesiastes 2:12). There has been some considerable debate over the meaning of the second half of this verse: “…for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done” (KJV). Some critics conclude Solomon is speaking of his successor, but that seems to fall flat, since the context seems to point to the reason why Solomon had undertaken the task of knowing the difference between wisdom and folly. Considering context, then, the Teacher seems to say: Since I am the wisest of men, who’s better qualified than I am to understand the value of the wise, practical life or the value of the mad, foolish life? Who is better equipped than I am to offer a truthful conclusion? Therefore, “whosoever would come after the king could, himself, discover only what the king has already discovered.” In other words, no one would be in a better position than Solomon to understand life’s purpose. He was wiser and wealthier than anyone before him. Therefore, no one before him could have done a better job than he. Therefore, the hypothetical question: “what is the meaning of life” is answered. The point of further investigation would be moot.
After Solomon had undertaken to understand both wisdom and folly, he found that wisdom excelled in value much more than folly, even as much as light excelled darkness. The one who lives practically or wisely, is able to understand the end of his labor, so he may choose one way or method over another, implying his eyes are open. However, the foolish are blind in that they have set their goal on a whim, or a fleeting glance or a promise of joy that tempts their passions. Where is understanding or the ability to see the end in that? They reach out for the wind in a dark place and stumble. Nevertheless, the value of wisdom over folly is limited, and, therefore the Teacher concludes that both are ultimately meaningless (Ecclesiastes 2:13-15).
What Solomon discovered in his experimentation in life was that the wise man and the fool end the same way. The fool loses all his pleasure in the grave, and the wise man dies the death of the fool in that all that he was able to accomplish in life ends with the grave. Nothing profits either the wise or the fool. Therefore, Solomon grew to hate his life, his wisdom and his wealth, because he understood that, ultimately, he was no better than the fool. Both the end of the wise and the end of the fool are ultimately alike, in that both of them lose everything when they die (Ecclesiastes 2:15-16)!
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